Folding machine for large-format documents

ABSTRACT

A sheet-folding machine has a housing having an off-line intake slot and, offset therefrom, an on-line intake slot, a manual sheet-input table on the housing juxtaposed with the off-line intake slot for feeding of a sheet manually into the off-line intake slot, and an automatic sheet feeder juxtaposed with the on-line intake slot and capable of cooperating with a sheet-processing device to receive a sheet therefrom and feed it into the on-line intake slot. Respective off-line and on-line guide chutes in the housing each have an upstream end at the respective slot and a downstream end. The downstream ends meet at an intersection. A roller-type folding unit in the housing receives a sheet to be folded at the intersection and folds it.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an automatic folding machine. More particularly this invention concerns such a machine for length- and cross-folding of large-format documents.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A typical folding machine for processing large-format documents has a housing with an intake slot for the documents and a document chute extending from the intake slot to an internal roller-type folding unit that delivers the folded document to an output tray. Such folding machines are used, for example, for the longitudinal folding of large-format documents, which can be fed in either by an on-line printer or manually by an operator.

The use of large-format documents, in particular printed paper strips, for example for use by industrial and blueprinting service providers to record assorted technical documentation or other large datasets, is known. The width of such paper strips is standard up to 914 mm (36″). The length of the paper strip—and thus the documents—can vary, and may be as much as 100 meters or more depending on the application.

It is known to fold such large-format documents for simplified handling or archiving. The standard-compliant folding of technical drawings is specified in Germany in DIN 824, which basically entails converting the document into a stack of folded pages having a footprint corresponding to a standard format size, for instance A4. Folding standards vary accordingly by country.

Such folding of large-format documents is usually automated as much as possible. Folding machines can perform both a longitudinal and a cross fold, and can operate, for example, using roller or belt folding.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/415,505 filed 16 Jan. 2015 discloses a fully automatic folding machine, in which a large folding roller as well as two small folding rollers act together in a folder. This machine operates by initially folding a portion of a paper web supplied to the machine into a first stack of continuous sheets. After reaching a threshold value of the thus created first stack, the first stack is moved into a tray while leaving it connected to a further portion of the paper web via a folded trailing sheet. A section of the folded trailing sheet is used as a basis for a further subsequent stack of continuous sheets to be folded thereupon. The folded trailing sheet from the folding station is withdrawn from the first already folded stack before moving the first stack into the tray. The folded trailing sheet is fed back into the folding station while the first stack is moved into the tray and then the already folded trailing sheet fed back into the folding station is used as the basis for the subsequent stack to be folded. The process of withdrawing the folded trailing sheet is repeated after reaching a threshold value of the subsequent stack until the whole paper web supplied is completely folded.

In longitudinal folding, a large-format document such as a printed paper strip is transported to the folder and folded by repeatedly reversing the folding rollers. If the document is only to be folded longitudinally, it is transported and stored after completion of the folding process in the longitudinal output tray.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,638 discloses a feeder for laminar articles, in which multiple groups of drivable components can be controlled and transported by a special controller. Although a folder for mail is also mentioned here, on-line as well as off-line operation of the feeder is not mentioned.

In today's folders the customer must decide when purchasing whether he would like to have an off-line folding machine with manual feeding of the item to be folded by an operator, as described in the brochure ROWEFOLD 721 (February 2004) from ROTH+WEBER GmbH, or an on-line folding machine with direct automated feeding of the items to be folded by a sheet-processing device, for example a printer, plotter or copier according to the brochure ROWEFOLD 721-4/Digital (February 2004) from ROTH+WEBER GmbH. The on-line folding machine can optionally be provided with an additional makeshift off-line intake slot, as will be described below with reference to FIG. 2. There is currently no cost-effective way to convert or retrofit the folding machines afterward.

To convert such a folding machine from an off-line to on-line operation, the existing, permanently installed off-line intake must be removed and a procured on-line intake device installed in its place. The effort, procurement, conversion time, incurred costs, etc., for this is so great that it cannot be done by the customer.

In the case of on-line machines, the possibility of off-line input usually exists, as will be explained below with reference to FIG. 2. This possibility is often technologically and ergonomically limited. The feed heights are not ideal, the operating position can be sideways. The document formats that can be fed are generally limited; thus, documents larger than A0 format often cannot be fed at all.

In principle, in all technical solutions for off-line intake of an on-line folding machine, the existing transfer device between printer and folding machine is used to feed in paper. Thus a user can manually feed a document in off-line, even though a document is currently being processed on-line. The result is a paper jam, resulting in machine failure. In the worst case, a technician must put the machine back in service.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved folding machine.

Another object is the provision of such an improved folding machine that overcomes the above-given disadvantages, in particular that avoids the disadvantages described above so that it can be used on-line as well as off-line.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A sheet-folding machine has according to the invention a housing having an off-line intake slot and, offset therefrom, an on-line intake slot, a manual sheet-input table on the housing juxtaposed with the off-line intake slot for feeding of a sheet manually into the off-line intake slot, and an automatic sheet feeder juxtaposed with the on-line intake slot and capable of cooperating with a sheet-processing device to receive a sheet therefrom and feed it into the on-line intake slot. Respective off-line and on-line guide chutes in the housing each have an upstream end at the respective slot and a downstream end. The downstream ends meet at an intersection. A roller-type folding unit in the housing receives a sheet to be folded at the intersection and folds it.

In other words, the housing of this invention has two intake slot for sheets with respective document chutes, the document chutes merge at an intersection, and the first intake slot has a manual feed table for off-line intake of documents and the second intake slot has a feeder for on-line intake of documents.

Thus the folding machine according to the invention can be delivered to a customer and subsequently converted in a few steps from an off-line folding machine to an on-line folding machine, or to an off-line/on-line folding machine that can process in immediate succession a document delivery from, for example, an on-line printer, as well as a manual document feed from an off-line operator.

The on-line intake slot in accordance with the invention is on a different side of the normally parallepipedal or box-shaped housing from the off-line intake slot.

Hence on-line intake from a printer takes place from one side, for instance the front of the folding machine, during which time off-line intake takes place from the back of the folding machine, which is easily accessible for the operator as it is not blocked by the printer.

The housing of the folder advantageously holds a folding unit comprised a pair of feed rollers, a document chute, as well as a plurality of folding rollers, of which at least one is drivable, disposed in the direction of sheet travel downstream of the intersection.

According to the invention, the off-line document chute and the on-line document chute can be in an interchangeable guide module of the folding machine.

Thus, in addition to a folding machine with a base model which has both document chutes integrated, a folding machine with a base model with no document chutes can also be offered. The base model without document chutes can be supplied with a first guide module which only has the off-line document chute, or with a second guide module which only has the on-line document chute, and one or the other module would be easily and cost-effectively exchanged for the guide module according to the invention, which has the off-line document chute and the on-line document chute.

The guide module according to the invention can advantageously be releasably attachable to the manual feed tray and/or the interface.

It has proven to be advantageous if the manual feed tray is designed as an intake-slot cover for the manual document intake slot which is foldable against the housing (16) when the off-line document chute is not in use.

According to the invention, the intake slot cover for the manual document intake slot can be designed such that the off-line intake slot, the off-line document chute and the document chute are in alignment, so that an optimal, wrinkle-free manual document feed is ensured.

Advantageously, a pair of intake rollers can be provided at the off-line intake slot for collecting and transporting a manually fed document into the off-line document chute.

A paper jam can be reliably prevented if a sensor is provided in the area of the off-line intake slot for the collection of a manually fed document, by means of which the pair of intake rollers can be switched on.

A document jam can be even more reliably prevented if sensors are provided in the area of the off-line intake slot as well as in the area of the on-line intake slot, which are coupled with a control device which controls at least one pair of intake rollers as well as at least one pair of interface rollers. Thus the controller prevents documents from being conveyed simultaneously into the off-line document chute and into the on-line document chute.

If the guide module and/or the interface and/or the manual feed tray and/or the intake-slot cover and/or the off-line intake slot tray can be retrofitted as a module, an off-line and/or on-line folding machine may be conveniently formed from a base folding machine without the need to produce various folding machines.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a prior-art off-line folding machine;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a prior-art on-line folding machine with provision for off-line document feeding;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing an off-line folding machine according to the invention convertible for on-line operation;

FIG. 4 shows the folding machine according to the invention of FIG. 3 enhanced for both on-line and off-line operation;

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of an off-line/on-line folding machine according to the invention generally according to FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of an off-line/on-line folding machine according to the invention,

FIG. 7 shows the folding machine according to FIG. 6 in on-line-only operation; and

FIG. 8 shows the folding machine according to FIG. 6 in off-line-only operation.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a prior-art off-line-folding machine 1 with manual feeding of the item to be folded by an operator, such as that of the above-mentioned ROWEFOLD 721, by means of which a large-format document, for instance a paper strip fed on a manual feed tray or table 2, can be folded into a stack and placed in an unillustrated folding tray. The folder has a housing 3 and, downstream of an off-line intake 4, a pair of feed rollers 5 that grip the document and feed it through a document chute 6 of the folder to small small folding rollers 7 and a large folding roller 8 that, by repeatedly reversing, fold the document as described in above-cited U.S. application Ser. No. 14/415,505, whose entire disclosure is herewith incorporated by reference.

FIG. 2 shows an on-line folder 9 such as the above-mentioned ROWEFOLD 721-4/Digital, with direct feed of the item to be folded from a paper processing device, for instance a printer 10, plotter, copier or the like. Here the on-line folding machine 9 can also folds the manually or off-line supplied large format paper strip, hereafter referred to as a document, into a stack, and places it in an unillustrated folding tray. The document is fed from the printer 10 via a feeder 11 so the on-line intake rollers 5 of the on-line folding machine 9 can grip the document. In place of the on-line intake slot 12, a provisional off-line intake 14 can be used with the feeder 11 of the printer 10, so that a document can be manually inserted into the on-line intake slot 12 as if coming from the printer 10.

Here, the same intake is used, such that a full and independent unrestricted usability of the machine features is not assured. With this system, it is possible for the operator to not notice that a document has just been outputed by the printer 10, so that both documents collide and a paper jam results in the folding machine 9. The operator must also feed the document by bending over the printer 10 or the folding machine 9, or else from the side, so that use is obstructed, for example by the printer 10, the folding machine 9 or the feeder 11.

FIG. 3 shows an off-line/on-line folding machine 15 according to the invention, in which an off-line intake slot 16 and an off-line document chute 17 as well as an on-line intake 22 slot and an on-line document chute 18 come together at an intersection 19 in the folder immediately upstream of the pair of feed rollers 5, which are followed by the document chute 6 and the folding rollers 7 and 8, all in a housing 16. The on-line document chute 18 is on the side of the housing 16 and opens horizontally oppositely to the off-line document chute 17. With its two document chutes 17 and 18, this folding machine is capable of off-line and on-line operation, but as shown here serves only as an off-line folding machine.

The FIG. 3 machine is converted to also accept on-line input by means of an on-line intake device, here a feeder 20 supplied as an expansion module, that transports the document to be folded with two pairs of rollers feed rollers 21 from a printer 10 not shown in FIG. 4 through the on-line intake 22 to the on-line chute 18. This feeder 20 is installed at the on-line intake slot 22 at the upstream end of the on-line document chute 18, so that the off-line/on-line folding machine 15 can carry out an on-line operation. The document is then transferred through the on-line document chute 18 via the intersection 19 to the pair of feed rollers 5.

The off-line/on-line folding machine 15 according to FIG. 5 is provided with a pair of feed rollers 23 in the area of the off-line intake slot 12 to take the document from the manual feed tray 2 and transport it through the off-line document chute 17, until it can be grasped by the pair of feed rollers 6.

Through the connection of the printer 10 with the off-line/on-line folding machine 15 via the interface 20, it can happen that the off-line intake slot 12 is blocked in the case of a document delivery via the printer 10, as for example the pair of feed rollers 23 are not driven and the document is thereby not grasped as long as a document delivered from the printer 10 is still in the folder. Conversely, a document delivered from the printer 10 can also be held back by the interface 20 and stored here, if necessary, as the pair of interface rollers 21 is not driven if the rollers 23 are conveying an off-line document.

To this end, a sensor 32 is provided adjacent the pair of feed rollers 23 to detect when a document is present on the manual feed tray 2 and another such sensor 33 is provided in the on-line chute 18 to detect if a document is or is not present in the on-line intake slot 22 and yet another such sensor 34 is provided in the feeder 20.

A controller 31 connected to the sensors 32, 33, and 34 and to the feed rollers 21 and 23 can thus easily prevent a collision at the intersection 19 by slowing or stopping the feed of a document in, for instance, the chute 17 when there is a document in the chute 18 or in the feeder 21 or vice versa.

The folder of FIGS. 6 and 7 has an interchangeable guide module 24 that forms both the off-line document chute 17 and slot 12 as well as the on-line document chute 18 and slot 22. An intake-slot cover 25 is attached to the guide module 24 near the off-line document slot 12 at the outer end of the off-line intake chute 16. This sheet-metal flap or cover 25 can be folded in the direction of an arrow 26 against the housing 16 when the manual document intake slot 12 is not in use, as is shown in FIG. 7. In this state, the off-line/on-line folding machine is used only as an on-line folding machine.

For manual document feeding by an operator as shown in FIG. 6, the off-line document chute 17 is simply opened by folding up the intake-slot cover 25 in the opposite direction of the arrow 26, so that the document can be placed from above onto the intake-slot cover 25 and pushed into the off-line intake slot 12 and thence into the chute 17. The feed of documents can be controlled by positioning the intake slot cover 25. When the intake slot cover 25 is closed, the controller 31 unblocks the on-line intake slot 22, and when the intake-slot cover 25 is open, the on-line intake slot 22 is disabled.

In FIG. 8, an embodiment of an off-line folding machine 27 having a base module 28 is shown, to which an off-line intake slot tray 29 for an off-line intake slot 30 is attached. For reconfiguration according to the invention, for instance to the off-line/on-line folding machine 15, the base module 28 can be replaced by the guide module 24 of FIGS. 6 and 7 belonging to and supplied with the off-line folding machine 27, and the off-line intake slot tray 29 by the likewise standard replacement of the interface 20 of the off-line folding machine 27.

Depending on the design of the folding machine, the base model of the off-line folding machine 27 with the base module 28 delivered from the factory to the customer can be supplemented by expansion modules like the interface 20 and/or the guide module 24 and/or the intake-slot cover 25.

According to the concept according to the invention, all folding machines are in principle complete off-line-folding machines and are packaged as such. As an additional package, an on-line intake slot according to the invention can be attached as an expansion module, thereby obtaining an off-line folding machine and an on-line folding machine in one. This system gives manufacturers, dealers and customers maximum flexibility and protection of investment, as one can very easily convert the off-line folding machine at any time in the field into a complete on-line and off-line folding machine by mounting the on-line intake slot extension module. This concept also offers immense advantages in the field of production. The same applies to the off-line folding machine according to the third exemplary embodiment. Here must simply off-line/on-line be selected between the base module 28 and the guide module 24. The same advantages result for all options of other devices for processing large-format documents, for example hole-punches, filing strip machines, etc., these too can be easily upgraded by the customer.

The underlying idea of the invention is to only offer in the future a base folding machine model and to deliver this as a base system, for example as an off-line folding machine, as is shown, for example, in FIG. 3 or FIG. 8. In addition, there is an interface 20 or an interface 20 and a guide module 24 to produce an on-line machine according to FIG. 4 or FIG. 6 from the off-line machine. Here it is possible with simple means for the user to attach an interface or a feeder, which can already be included in the delivery of the machine and thus already be available on site, to the machine. Thus, the machine can be used as an off-line as well as an on-line machine.

Contrary to the prior art, the machine can be loaded from two separate paper feed paths, the off-line intake slot 12 and the on-line intake slot 22, so that each is provided full and unrestricted usability of the machine features and full access to the control elements. Thus on conversion from off-line use (FIG. 8) to on-line or combined on-line/off-line use, the off-line intake slot 12 becomes the on-line intake slot 22 and a new off-line intake slot 12 and chute 17 is added.

The base or basic machine according to FIGS. 3 to 5 can be built in two versions. One version has an additional feed roller 23 at the off-line intake slot tray or manual feed tray 2. This ensures a particularly comfortable feed.

An additional function for jam prevention is possible here. For instance, the controller 31 and sensors 32-34 can ensure that it is not possible for the user to feed in a document when a document is being fed on-line at the same time. The pair of feed rollers 23 with feed rollers has a separate drive which remains switched off in on-line mode as long as there is a document in the on-line intake slot 22. The reverse case, that the user feeds and folds paper off-line and the printer 10 simultaneously releases a paper strip to the off-line on-line folding machine 15, is also guaranteed by a continuous chain of information from the printer 10 to the off-line on-line folding machine 15, and conversely as well.

Furthermore, the user can feed in against this stationary pair of feed rollers 23 during off-line operation. The document is detected by the sensor 32 and the pair of feed rollers 23 begin running with a time delay in order to draw in the paper. The alignment of the document is thereby particularly simple.

The other version is equipped without the extra pair of feed rollers 23. The functions of jam prevention and comfortable feeding through the stationary pair of feed rollers 23 is dispensed with, however off-line delivery is nevertheless possible. This version is a cost-effective alternative. Off-line intake is done only via the off-line/on-line attached feed tray.

The concept of the entry-level machine provides the option to assemble the machine by selecting individual components. Here one decides whether it will be an off-line or on-line machine. An off-line machine has as a paper feed the off-line intake slot tray or manual feed tray 2, and uses only one of the two feed channels 17, 18. Likewise, the on-line machine uses only one of the two feed channels 18, 17, and has the interface 20 as an on-line intake slot 22. The on-line off-line machine uses both feed channels 17, 18 alternately, and has two paper feeds 4 and 22 with the manual feed tray 2 and interface 20.

The folding unit and the folder, in particular according to FIGS. 6 and 7, includes the main components of the machine. The guide module is a further component, as well as optionally the on-line intake slot tray and/or the interface 20. To now fold off-line, the intake-slot cover 25 can be opened, by means of which the document is directed into the folding unit via the off-line document chute 17. In this case, the paper feed path does not come from the opposite side from the on-line fed paper, but rather obliquely from above. When the off-line intake slot 12 is not needed, the intake-slot cover 25 can be closed.

An advantage of the embodiment according to FIGS. 6 and 7 is that feeding of the document to be folded comes obliquely from above, so that the document enters directly into the transport and folding rollers. Wrinkling of the paper through deflection around edges and rollers is thus largely precluded. 

We claim:
 1. A sheet-folding machine comprising: a housing having an off-line intake slot and, offset therefrom, an on-line intake slot; a manual sheet-input table on the housing juxtaposed with the off-line intake slot for feeding of a sheet manually into the off-line intake slot; an automatic sheet feeder juxtaposed with the on-line intake slot and capable of cooperating with a sheet-processing device to receive a sheet therefrom and feed it into the on-line intake slot; respective off-line and on-line guide chutes in the housing each having an upstream end at the respective slot and a downstream end, the downstream ends meeting at an intersection; and a folding unit in the housing positioned to receive a sheet to be folded at the intersection and operable to fold the received sheet.
 2. The sheet-folding machine defined in claim 1, wherein the housing has a plurality of sides and the slots are on different sides of the housing.
 3. The sheet-folding machine defined in claim 3, wherein the folding unit includes a pair of feed rollers, a folding-unit chute extending in a sheet-travel direction from the intersection to the document rollers, and a plurality of folding rollers downstream in the direction from the feed rollers and operable to fold a sheet from the feed rollers.
 4. The sheet-folding machine defined in claim 1, wherein the housing has a removable module forming the on-line and off-line chutes.
 5. The sheet-folding machine defined in claim 4, wherein the sheet-input table or the automatic sheet feeder are mounted externally on the housing.
 6. The sheet-folding machine defined in claim 1, wherein the sheet-input table includes a sheet-guide flap movable between a use position exposing the off-line intake slot for sliding of a sheet into the off-line intake slot and a closed position covering the off-line intake slot.
 7. The sheet-folding machine defined in claim 5, wherein in the open position the flap is oriented in alignment with the off-like chute for feeding of a sheet along the flap into the chute.
 8. The sheet-folding machine defined in claim 1, further comprising: off-line feed rollers in the housing and in the off-line chute for advancing sheets along the off-line chute in a sheet-travel direction from the off-line intake slot to the intersection.
 9. The sheet-folding machine defined in claim 8, further comprising: an off-line sensor adjacent the off-line intake slot for detecting a sheet at the upstream end of the off-line chute; and control means connected to the folding unit, to the off-line feed rollers, and to the off-line sensor for operating the off-line feed rollers only when the folding unit is inactive.
 10. The sheet-folding machine defined in claim 8, wherein the automatic sheet feeder has on-line feed rollers, the machine further comprising: an off-line sensor adjacent the off-line intake slot for detecting a sheet at the upstream end of the off-line chute; an on-line sensor adjacent the on-line intake slot or in the automatic feeder for detecting a sheet at the upstream end of the on-line chute or in the automatic feeder; and control means connected to the folding unit, to the on-line and off-line feed rollers, and to the on-line and off-line sensors for operating the feed rollers such that only one sheet is fed to the folding unit at a time.
 11. The sheet-folding machine defined in claim 1, wherein the housing includes: a removable module forming the on-line and off-line chutes and the on-line and off-line intake slots, or a removable module forming only one of the chutes and the respective slot. 